Many plain cylindrical bearings such as those used for main bearings and crankpins for crankshafts require non-parallel profiles on the finished shaft. Such profiles are usually produced by plunge grinding with the reverse image of the desired profile dressed onto the periphery of the grinding wheel.
The recent introduction and application of Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) grinding wheels to the bearing grinding process has led to the development of multi-plunge grinding techniques and diagonal or vector grinding as described in British Patent Specification No. 2413978. The newer grinding methods have made non-parallel sided cylindrical bearing components difficult, if not impossible, to produce. This invention addresses such difficulties, demonstrating a capability to grind non-parallel shapes, in particular barrel forms, whilst retaining the advantages of vector and multi-plunge grinding.